Suggesting that parents borrow '£10,000 upfront to cover the costs of care' is ludicrous. It is a debt trap for families who may so far be debt free and the straw that breaks the camel's back for families that are already struggling.

Whoever thought that paying parents to be full time mums or dads, able to care for and enjoy their young children, was not a good idea, must surely have changed their minds by now.

It seems crazy to add another debt to families in this 'pay later' culture! If it is run on the lines of student finance it will mean a huge mountain of forms to fill in. In my experience of tackling student finance forms it is not an easy task! - just when you think you have filled in the last form they send you another! I wonder whether this will be the same with this scheme? I also wonder how much this will cost to administer?